A unique kangaroo was born at the New York zoo: the only such kangaroo in North America

In one of the zoos in New York State, the baby of a large red kangaroo was born with a rare mutation that surprised the park staff. Cosmo, the youngest resident of Animal Adventure Zoo, was born with leucism, an incredibly rare condition that causes partial loss of pigmentation in the skin and coat of an animal. Unlike albinism, leucism does not cause a lack of pigmentation in the eyes. CNN.

The toddler was born at the Harpursville Zoo five months ago, but on January 15, the caretakers removed him from his mother's bag for the first time.

Baby kangaroos are born the size of a human fingernail, so Cosmo was allowed to grow in the mother's pouch for several months before being removed for the first full physical examination.

“As soon as we noticed that the cub was white, we were surprised, but when we got closer and saw the black eyes, our jaws fell off. At that moment, we realized: we have something that we have never seen before, ”said park owner Jordan Patch.

“It is currently the only kangaroo of its type in North America - this is so unique,” ​​he added.

The baby was born to Boomer, a male red kangaroo who has lived in the park for eight years, and Rosie, who joined the park in 2020.

“Whatever underlies the genetics between the two, it has led to this unique mutation,” Patch explained. "Now we want to understand and study what kind of gene it is, whether both parents are carriers of some recessive traits, or is it just an accident."

Cosmo's mutation does not affect his health. The only danger is that it lacks the ability to disguise itself, so it most likely would never have survived in the wild.

“At Animal Adventure, we're no stranger to amazing experiences and experiences, and today we enter 2021 with a little light at the end of the tunnel - bright, white, and it's called Cosmo,” Patch said.